


It's Diet Coke Time

by betheflame



Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2020 [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Flirting, Getting Together, M/M, New York City, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26614615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: The man who looks like a Chippendale dancer drinks a Diet Coke at 11am every day and watching him is Tony's favorite way to take a break.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647499
Comments: 38
Kudos: 287
Collections: POTS (18+) Twink Tony Bingo 2020





	It's Diet Coke Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tina_v](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tina_v/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA! I took inspo from [this art you posted on Tumbly a while back](https://thirstinart.tumblr.com/post/627588846102724608/a-lot-of-people-will-be-too-young-to-remember-this) and decided to give you some words for your special day. Sorry it's a bit late.

Tony was _so tired_ of crunching numbers.

Howard’s insistence that he work at _at least_ three other companies - one financial, one tech, one manufacturing - before he could come back to SI after graduation was annoying.

Also good because Tony had learned a lot and made contacts that would be valuable for later in life, but he’d admit that only under threat of death.

This round at CooperBartok - the third largest brokerage firm in Manhattan - had him working his way up from the hourly paid admin analysts. He’d known Mr. Bartok his entire life - the families’ Montauk homes shared a boundary line - so he knew he was being put through his paces more intensely than he had been at the tech startup he had left last year. They’d kissed the ground he walked on there.

Everyone at CB had been instructed to call him Tony Carbonell, and had signed NDAs that they wouldn’t leak to the press or their friends what Tony Stark was doing at CB. Mr. Bartok had impressed upon everyone - the admins, the board, the UPS guys - that Tony was entering their Fresh Graduate program with absolutely no advantages and if he fucked up, Mr. Bartok expected that Tony would be fired.

It was kind of refreshing, if Tony was honest.

He’d been told that morning he was getting promoted on Monday. He’d spent the past two months working for a woman named Janice Dailey, who oversaw the Mid-Atlantic sales division. He’d built an algorithm for their customer management database that put SalesForce to shame and Ms. Dailey was more than happy to promote him to the general information technology arm of CB.

Problem.

The IT division was housed on the William Street side of the building, rather than the Pine Street. Pine Street had been under construction for months. Jackhammers, shouting, welding, scaffolding - the whole nine. Approximately zero of his coworkers complained, however, because at 11am every day, the crew took a break.

And at 11am every work day, a man who looked like he moonlighted as a Chippendale dancer took off his shirt, wiped his face with it and downed two Diet Cokes in quick succession. His coworker, a redhead who looked like she could easily kill Tony with her shoe, sat in a sports bra as she ate two granola bars and a Red Bull. A hipstery dude with a man-bun had shown up the week before to deliver more snacks and the posturing between the three had led to fanfiction levels of guessing among Tony and his colleague about the relationship.

So today was his last day to perv on Diet Coke Guy and he was going to make it count.

At 10:50, he got up from his desk and headed to the Keurig to make a fresh cup of coffee. By 10:53, he was positioned at (his friend? Maybe? Potentially?) Sharon Carter’s desk as she had prime viewing real estate.

“You know,” Sharon drolled. “You could just ask him out.”

Tony glared at her. “Yes, because men that look like that are into 19-year-olds with chicken legs.”

“You are projecting heteronormativity,” their other colleague Darcy Lewis interjected. “For all you know, those three are in a polyamorous asexual life commitment.”

“I don’t know what at least one of those words means,” Sharon said, “but you have been drooling over him for six weeks.”

“I do not drool,” Tony said primly.

“I cleaned shit off the glass yesterday,” Darcy sassed with a raised eyebrow, which earned her a middle finger from Tony.

“I’m perfectly content with my perving, thank you very much,” Tony replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Well, I’m sad your soul matches your legs,” Sharon replied casually.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“You’re too chicken, aren’t you? Brave and bold Tony, all talk and no game,” Sharon said.

“You are not goading me into humiliating myself.”

“No, but I am,” another voice sounded. He turned to see his best friend striding towards him.

“Rhodey! Who let you in the building?”

“Rhonda in reception has the hots for me,” Rhodey replied smoothly.

“Our lunch isn’t until 11:30,” Tony said.

“Yeah, I wanted to witness your pathetic perving one last time before you move offices,” Rhodey replied. “So, you gonna actually use your words like an adult? Or do I have to make fun of you for this forever?”

“Those are literally the only options?”

“Public shaming is a binary,” Rhodey replied seriously.

The thing was, Rhodey wasn’t bluffing. If Tony didn’t go down there and ask out Chippendale, Rhodey would be bringing it up for at least the next three decades. Tony stared at Rhodey, then glanced at Sharon.

“I have a real craving for a bear claw from Zaro’s,” she replied, referring to the bakery around the corner from their office, a journey to which would mean Tony would pass right by the construction workers.

“I’d hate to let a friend down,” Tony replied.

* * *

“Knock it off, Nat,” Steve growled as he reached for his cooler.

“You are hot for the window twink. Do something about it.”

“He works for CooperBartok and I’m a construction worker, Nat.”

“Great summary of reality there, Steve,” Nat said with a dramatic eye roll. “You are a pretty sought after comic book artist and it’s not your fault that your industry pays peanuts.”

“Peanuts would be a step up for what Stevie gets,” Bucky interrupted as he strolled up with Nat’s requested order of hummus and pita chips for her lunch break. It was a haul to get to the Financial District from their apartment in Bed-Stuy, but Buck got antsy on his days off, so he always schlepped down to deliver food.

“I’m new,” Steve protested.

“You’re underpaid,” Nat corrected. “Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Why are you so grumpy anyway?” Bucky asked and then glanced at the window. “Oooh, Window Twink is missing.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Hamilton references are not going to save you,” Bucky retorted.

“I’m not grumpy and he’s a human with a name whom I happen to find aesthetically pleasing.”

“Oh, he’s got it bad,” Bucky said with a grin to Nat. The three had known each other their entire lives - getting anything past Bucky or Nat was simply not possible for Steve.

“Look,” Steve said with a sigh, “he’s gorgeous, okay? Even from three stories up, I can tell he’s gorgeous. But I’m not about to waltz into a brokerage firm and ask someone at reception if I can talk to the guy with the big doe eyes who works on the third floor.”

“What if he was walking this direction?” Nat said with a pointed look over Steve’s shoulder.

“What?”

“Hi,” Window Twink called out, standing at the barrier to their site. “I’m going to Zaro’s and since you’re on break, do you guys want anything?”

Steve blinked a few times. It was not possible that his fantasy was standing in front of him. He was not that lucky.

“You serious?” Bucky asked.

Window Twink nodded. “It’s my last day in that office - I’m going to another division on Monday - so I’m really just fucking around all day. It’s hot as balls out here and smells even worse, so I’m not sure a bear claw would really make that better, but I thought it was worth a shot.”

“Stevie’s a sucker for raspberry rugelach,” Bucky piped up and Steve could have died on the spot.

Window Twink’s eyes met his. “Steve?”

Steve nodded.

“Tony,” the man said with a smile. “Okay, raspberry rugelach. Anything else?”

A few minutes later, when Tony presented Steve with his pastry, there was a phone number written on the outside, which Steve promptly texted before he lost his nerve.

_Steve: What time do you get off work?_

_Tony: Anytime between 5 and 10 in this division. Not sure about Monday. Probably the same._

Steve calculated how long it would take him to get home, shower, and get back.

_Steve: You free today? Take you out for a celebratory drink? I gotta pay you back for the snack._

_Tony: You don’t, but I’ll let you buy me a round at Dead Rabbit. Say 6?_

_Tony: I’m assuming you drink things other than Diet Coke if you look like that._

_Steve: Yeah, it’s just one of my guilty pleasures_

_Tony: You have others?_

Steve felt his whole face go red as the alarm sounded that break was over. He quickly dashed a response back.

_Steve: I’ll give you the full rundown later. Breaks’ over._

_Tony: Looking forward to it, handsome._

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked the story, I'd love to know! Kudos and comments are life giving. If you're not sure what to say in the comment, know that I take keyboard smashes and emojis as full love. So, if you liked it more than just a kudos, dropping a ":heart:" is great and I thank you in advance.
> 
> Find me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/betheflame1) or [Tumblr](http://betheflame.tumblr.com) for more on these yahoos. You can also submit prompts and cajole me into writing faster - it usually works. If you're on Discord, I'm definitely there, too, and probably hanging in the [Put on the Suit Stony Server. ](https://discord.gg/z5WSqbS)  
>   
> Oh! And FestiveFerret and I have a [fandom podcast](http://www.podonthesuit.com) if you're so inclined.  
>   
> 


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